Anger continues on Turkish street

Support for Palestine transformed by flotilla deaths into fierce opposition to Israel.

05 Jun 2010 19:59 GMT

The captured and the dead from the recent raid by Israeli commandos on an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip have been returned to Turkey. But the anger continues on the country's streets.

As thousands of Turks protested against Israel on Saturday, fuelling the fury further was the news of the preliminary autopsy reports.

In Istanbul, the ever-present Palestinian flag was waved alongside that of Turkey. Also visible was the green flag of Hamas, signalling a new and widespread public embrace of all the Palestinian factions.

Even more surprisingly, the yellow flag of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which fought a war with Israel in the summer of 2006, was strongly present.

What began as an expression of support for Palestine appears to have been transformed into fundamental opposition of Israel, evident in the images of the Israeli flag being burned in the streets.